Report: Donte DiVincenzo done for remainder of 2021 NBA playoffs

Milwaukee Bucks G Donte DiVincenzo has suffered a serious tendon injury in his left foot and will miss the remainder of the 2021 NBA Playoffs, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Friday afternoon. DiVincenzo was injured during Game 3 of their first-round series against the Miami Heat on Thursday night and was unable to return. Now, the Bucks will be missing their starting guard for the rest of the postseason.

The Bucks rolled past Miami again on Thursday night, 113-84, to take a 3-0 series lead and appear poised to complete the four-game sweep. Milwaukee is out for revenge after losing to the Heat in the second round of the 2020 playoffs. Without DiVincenzo, the Bucks shouldn’t have an issue capping off the series win and advancing. That’s when we may see this injury impact the Bucks, who don’t have the best depth at guard.

With DiVincenzo sidelined, the Bucks could opt to start Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton in the back court while inserting PJ Tucker into the starting lineup at SF. Tucker won’t provide much on offense but is considered a plus-defender and has played deep into the playoffs throughout his career. The other option is for the Bucks to start Bryn Forbes at SG in place of DiVincenzo. Forbes has shot the ball well from outside the past two games, going 9-for-16 on 3-point shots.

The Bucks entered Friday with 5/1 odds to win the NBA championship on DraftKings Sportsbook. Those are the third-best odds overall, trailing only the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers. Chances are the Bucks were going to have a tough time getting past Brooklyn in the second round anyway. Without DiVincenzo, that becomes slightly tougher. It’s not like DiVincenzo or Forbes or Pat Connaughton or even Tucker can do anything to stop the back court of Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Milwaukee was also +225 to come out of the East on DKSB before this news.